


Midsummer Pudding

by Rubynye



Category: Lord of the Rings - Tolkien
Genre: Food, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-01-13
Updated: 2010-01-13
Packaged: 2017-10-06 06:05:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,301
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/50479
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rubynye/pseuds/Rubynye
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Dessert and farewells.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Midsummer Pudding

**Author's Note:**

> Inspired by the [](http://community.livejournal.com/shire_kitchen/profile)[**shire_kitchen**](http://community.livejournal.com/shire_kitchen/) Recipe Fic Challenge.

Title: Midsummer Pudding  
Rating: PG  
Fandom: LOTR hobbitfic  
Pairing: Sam/Merry  
Summary: Dessert and farewells.  
Disclaimer: Sam and Merry, and Frodo and all, belong to the Professor. And the recipe belongs to the woman who posted it in her blog.

"Hullo, Sam," Merry said, bouncing into the kitchen. "What's that you're making?"

Sam glanced up from his task, stirring a pot which smelled warmly of berries and honey, to smile in greeting. "A summer pudding, Mr. Merry, for tomorrow's luncheon afore you leave; Mr. Frodo said your Mam Mistress Brandybuck likes fruit, and the brambles are bearing mightily." Sam tasted the mix in the pot, added a pinch of salt, and took it off the heat. On the table was a blue bowl already lined with bread, beside a neat stack of crustless slices.

"That's a good choice; she loves summer pudding." Merry reached for a slice of bread, and Sam gave him a look so tragically reproving he had to laugh. "Ah, Sam. I'll miss your cooking."

Sam's cheeks flushed pink, of course. "With Brandy Hall's best cooks striving for your favor? I think not, Mr. Merry."

"Oh, I think so." Merry leaned a little closer, though not so close as to be in Sam's way as he spooned fruit into the bowl and covered it with bread, neatly tearing it to fit and gently patting it in. "I love Brandy Hall, and I love Great Smials, but I love Bag End too. And I love my cousin Frodo, and I appreciate his taste in gardeners."

Sam kept his eyes fixed on his bowl, but his cheeks were rapidly approaching the color of strawberries, and a small smile was curling his lips despite his obvious struggle against it. "It's been right good having you visit, Mr. Merry," Sam replied, and a chuckle could be heard beneath the polite surface of his words. "Mr. Frodo's cheered when you're by, you and Master Pippin, and for my part I thank you again for reading to me as I worked."

"And what of my distracting you from your work?" If Merry stood just so, he could tuck two toes into Sam's foot-fur, which made Sam shudder all through; unfortunately no berry juice had been spilled, but Merry made of a tiny crumb sufficient excuse to suck his finger, and Sam obligingly turned a glowing tomato red. "Speaking of such, I'm sorry I won't be here to dance Lithe."

That did it. Sam barked laughter, bit his lip, looked at Merry, and gave in, setting down his pot and spoon as he laughed; patting his shoulder, Merry laughed triumphantly with him. "Mr. Merry, Mr. Merry," Sam gasped, wiping his eyes, "I think you've made the gardens grow, at that." Merry grinned to hear it, holding his head proudly high, and Sam laughed again, smiling ear to ear as he continued, "You're as wild a tween as ever has been since hobbits first settled the Shire, I'm sure of it. Last year they chattered of nothing all Afterlithe but the Master of Buckland's fair lively son, and all the hobbits as he danced with. Would you have them make a song on you, the sort as a lad can't sing before his elders or else have his ears boxed?"

"A song about me? I'd be a legend! Pippin would be so jealous." His hand on Sam's broad shoulder, Merry stroked his thumb up and down, feeling soft worn cloth over firm flesh. Sam glanced once at his half-finished pudding, shrugged a little, and settled his gaze on Merry. Contemplating Sam's warm dark eyes and ruddy cheeks, Merry wondered if there was time enough before his mother arrived, and if so if he might convince Sam of it; thinking on this, Merry put on his best cheeky grin. "But Frodo's still far ahead of me, from what I hear tell."

_That_ was a different shade of red yet; Sam had a fair rainbow of blushes, and a nice range of smiles. Shaking his head and smiling softly, Sam dropped his eyes again and turned back to his project. "Be that as it be," he said in a tone Merry knew he had from his Gaffer, "'tis not for me to say."

"Sam." Merry tried to say it the way Frodo did, when Sam was thinking too much of his place and too little on his friends, and Sam looked up again, eyes wide. "All jests aside, I do like it here, and you're a large part of why I have such lovely visits here; when I go home I'll think of you, especially when my father puts me to work during harvest."

Sam laughed again at that, and Merry smiled to see it. "Aye, Mr. Merry, and I'll miss your reading and your cheer when my Dad has me working sunup to sundown helping the harvest in and tending the gardens. 'Twas a good half-summer, having you here."

"I'll be back for Frodo's birthday," Merry began, but just then the doorbell rang, and they both heard Frodo answer it; when they heard Merry's mother greeting Frodo with her usual imperious cheer, Sam froze, flushing crimson and then pale. Before Sam could duck away Merry caught him by both shoulders and kissed him, quickly and firmly but not so much of either that Sam couldn't tense and then ease beneath Merry's hands, lean into Merry's hold and kiss him back.

Then Merry let go. "My mother's here, I'd best go greet her," Merry said unnecessarily, and Sam nodded, his smile tilting ruefully. "Till after our harvests, then, Sam? Keep an eye on Frodo for me?"

"Till then, Mr. Merry, and sure but I'll keep both of them on him for you." Sam nodded stoutly and turned back to his cooking, but as he stepped into the hall Merry glanced back to catch Sam watching him go with big dark eyes, and he grinned as Sam blushed once more, bright as a berry.

 

*****

This recipe is from <http://www.paulbeard.org/wordpress/index.php/archives/2002/08/18/summer-pudding/> and copyright to the owner of the page. I made it for the Independence Day barbecue I attended yesterday, using challah and honey, and it was well-received..

Summer Pudding

An easy one, and just the thing to use up lots of ripe fruit.

You need some bread, half a loaf or so, commercial cotton bread if that's all you have, and 4 - 6 cups of fruit. Your choice of raspberries, strawberries, blackberries (any variety), peaches, nectarines, plums, whatever. Skin the peaches, nectarines, plums. Frozen fruit is fine as well.

Take a large bowl/pudding basin, and line it with de-crusted slices of the bread, cut to fit like a jigsaw puzzle, in a single layer. Put all the fruit in a large saucepan with 1 cup sugar and 3 tbsp of lemon juice and bring to a gentle boil, then simmer a few minutes.

Pour a third of the fruit mixture into the bowl, and top with more bread slices, again cutting to fit in a single layer. Repeat twice more.

Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and cover with a pan that will fit inside the inner diameter of the bowl. A cake pan should work if you have the right size. Press it down firmly, add 2 pounds of weight to it (2 lbs rice or sugar in a bag is fine).

Refrigerate overnight, or up to 24 hours.

Remove the weight and pan, and unmold onto a plate. It may take some persuading: the recipe I used suggested lining the bowl with plastic first, but I didn't need it.

Variations: for bread, substitute angel food cake or ladyfingers.

Adapted from The Joy of Cooking.

 

also see: <http://www.waitrose.com/food_drink/wfi/ingredients/fruitandvegetables/9808030.asp>


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